Quote:
Originally Posted by mgescuro
The only reason to keep Saturn alive is the fact that it has the ability to attract and win over an entire generation of buyers that GM has managed to alienate over the past 20-30 years.
Over that period of time, more and more people have become more accustomed to tighter driving cars, more aggressive designs, technology, etc. In effect, European designs.
There will always be a certain proportion of the US that will always buy a "true" American car, American nameplate, American design. But there is now a growing number of people who don't want that, and want a more sophisticated look, design, and driving experience.
And that's where Saturn comes in.
Saturn needs to expand its dealership base. GM needs to market heavily on the coasts, which has become synonymous to a beachhead for imports the past 20-30 years. Saturn needs to be pure European. And it needs to be distanced from Chevrolet. It needs to be the anti-Chevrolet. Complete with famous Saturn customer service.
That in and of itself is Saturn's advantage in this market.
It is GM's fault for not recognizing it!!
Because they don't have a satellite office in San Francisco.
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Will there be much a difference between opel and chevrolet in five years? The Corsa is merging with the Aveo, same with the Astra and what is replacing the cobalt, and the euro market Insignia is much larger than the Vectra to maximize commonality with the Epsilon II Malibu. In the sport hatchback niche, the Astra has sold less than 5000 cars or less than 10 per dealership. Saturn has tried to be the non-American America brand in several incarnations for close to 20 years now and whether they try to be Japanese to European they've made little inroads towards VW, Honda, or Toyota. Saturn has always been a brand searching for a purpose, but its never really found one.